Popular music store in Camden County has closing date

CHERRY HILL — A once-popular music store has set the date to close here.

The Sam Ash shop, part of a chain that flourished for most of its century-long run, will shut its doors on July 21.

Its parent firm, Sam Ash Music Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection in May and announced plans to close its 42 stores.

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The Long Island-based company, which once billed itself as "The World's Favorite Music Store," blamed its demise on the COVID-19 pandemic and a change in shopping patterns.

Sam Ash "lost significant market share when customers converted to online shopping, and they could not regain that share post-pandemic," said a bankruptcy court filing.

It said sales "continued to trail pre-pandemic numbers throughout 2021 and started to plummet in late 2022."

The parent firm had unsecured debts of more than $20 million, the filing said.

The local store is in the Cherry Hill Plaza, off Route 38 near the Cherry Hill Mall, Its now largely barren as close-out sales diminish its stock.

Chris Maher of Washington Township, a longtime customer, mourned the shop's demise.

"After walking past the “Last 7 Days” sign and seeing the almost bare store, the sadness of losing a great music store really hit," he said.

Maher continued about how he loved going to the store for a lot of his tech needs and that "the staff was always incredibly helpful and provided a welcoming experience every time."

Staff writer Jim Walsh contributed to this report.

Nick Butler is an impact reporter for the Courier Post, the Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times covering community news in South Jersey. Have any tips or stories? Reach out to NButler@Gannett.com. Subscribe to stay in the loop.